Medical School Prerequisites: What You Need to Know

What classes do you need to take as a premed in order to apply to medical school? Can you take your medical school prerequisites at a community college? Can you take them after applying to med school or after taking the MCAT? Can you take your prerequisites online? We'll address all that and more today!

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As a premed, you can major in anything you want. But you need to take certain prerequisite classes before starting medical school.

The exact requirements vary a little from medical school to medical school—and some schools are moving away from having a strict set of prerequisite classes—but the core requirements are still mostly the same for a lot of schools.

The tradition list of classes would include general chemistry (2 semesters with labs), organic chemistry (1 or 2 semesters with labs), general biology (2 semesters with labs), physics (2 semesters with labs), and biochemistry (1 semester).

Usually, there is a math requirement, whether it's calculus, statistics, or something else. And a lot of medical schools have English, sociology, or psychology as prerequisites, as well. So you need to check the specific schools you want to apply to.

Can you use AP credits to fulfill your medical school prerequisites? Usually, yes you can, but you should add some higher-level biology or chemistry courses in that case, to show that you can definitely handle college-level courses.

Again, this is all a very individual process that depends on your school list, your undergraduate institution, and more, so check in early and often with your premed advisor for personal advice on which prerequisites YOU need.